Diplomacy & international policy | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Diplomacy & international policy

To address today's global challenges, we need professionals who have a strong grounding in history and social science and who can apply that knowledge to complex practical problems.

The next generation of creative, well-trained foreign policy leaders is studying at the Ford School. Through our International Policy Center and Weiser Diplomacy Centers, we bring high-profile leaders in foreign affairs to campus, including Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Steve Biegun, Malala Yousafzai, and H.R. McMaster. We host professors of practice in international diplomacy, distinguished leaders who teach, mentor, and inspire our students. We develop and host simulations and other practical opportunities for students to grapple with issues such as environmental diplomacy and countering violent extremism. We support student-initiated projects, internships, and travel around the world. We offer competitive fellowships to top graduate students, awarding up to $25,000 per year.

Research insights

What sustains war

From World War II to the ongoing Gaza War, anthropologist Scott Atran’s recent article in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences explores how deeply held moral convictions and group identities drive committed actors in seemingly intractable conflicts.
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Research insights

Reflections on Nepal

IPC director Bill Axinn on 5 decades focused on Nepal, from youth to leading 30-year study.
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Faculty expert

Ambassador Camara speaks at NATO conference on evolving terrorism in the Sahel

Ambassador Kamissa Camara was one of 85 subject matter experts convened at the NATO Strategic Direction – South Hub Conference on “Terrorism: A common asymmetric threat” in Naples, Italy.
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Student experience

Learning to negotiate: U.S. Army War College and Weiser Diplomacy Center host crisis simulation at the Ford School

For a second consecutive year, Ford School graduate students simulated diplomatic negotiations to resolve a long-standing conflict. Thirty-two students focused on the crisis in Jammu and Kashmir, and were advised by former ambassadors and U.S. Army War College experts.
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Student experience

Malala Yousafzai inspires students with her activism journey

The Ford School and the Weiser Diplomacy Center welcomed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to Ann Arbor for a conversation about her personal journey as an activist.
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Research insights

Hassan’s summer fieldwork explores politics and practice of AI development in Africa

Building on his long-term research on technology and decolonialization, Yousif Hassan's summer fieldwork examined the politics of AI and international development in Africa, with a focus on local agency, imagination, and innovation.
Read more about the research
Student experience

Coversations with Ambassadors

The three day Ambassadors Forum brought distinguished diplomats and policy experts to Ann Arbor for discussions on America’s role in NATO, the EU, and the future of diplomacy.
Read more about the Ambassadors Forum
Faculty expert

Page reflects on representing America abroad›

In the Atlantic, Page said that “being Black and a woman — and the face of America before a fledgling country (in South Sudan) — held enormous significance."
Read more about Page
Faculty expert

Ann Chih Lin named U-M Center for Chinese Studies director

She will lead efforts for one of the nation’s most prominent centers devoted to understanding China, past and present.
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Student experience

Undergraduate travel course

When 15 public policy undergraduates touched down in Brussels, Belgium in March, they knew they were visiting Europe’s capital at a pivotal moment.
Read about the trip to Brussels
Alumni impact

Sean Jones (MPP '00) USAID Ethiopia Mission Director

"After twenty years, six countries on three continents, and leadership of three Presidential Initiatives, I am proud of my small part in helping companies and governments embrace the once-radical worldview that companies have an immense responsibility to all of their stakeholders, not just to their shareholders."
Read about Jones' work
Research insights

Yusef Neggers study on informed voting in India

“While there’s moral aversion to having politicians with serious criminal charges in office, it does seem that there’s at least some economic rationale.”
Yusef Neggers study on informed voting in India
Student experience

Connecting our students with diplomats

Students have opportunities to meet with and hear from the Ford School's visiting speakers and our U.S. State Department Diplomat in Residence through office hours and group meetings, and by serving as moderators for public events.

Here, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with graduate students Maggie Barnard (MPP '21) and Jonatan Martinez (MPP '20), during her visit. Barnard is a Weiser Diplomacy Fellow.
Hillary Clinton and Maggie Barnard